( ESNUG 451 Item 5 ) -------------------------------------------- [02/08/06]
Subject: Harry Foster goes to Mentor; Jasper CEO responds to competitor FUD
> Hi, Kathryn,
>
> Thought I'd give you a heads up that I've heard from some EDA vendors
> the scuttlebutt that Jasper's in trouble. The 3 things they're citing is
> a 1) a Jasper layoff, 2) some of your R&D have left, and 3) Harry Foster
> just left -- as the signs you're in trouble. Just an FYI.
>
> - John Cooley
> ESNUG/DeepChip Holliston, MA
From: Kathryn Kranen <kathryn=user domain=jasper-da spot calm>
Hi John,
That rumor about Jasper layoffs is quite bizarre. We've never had a layoff
in the history of the company. In fact, we're hiring. I'd very much
appreciate it if you could run our job ad in the "jobs" part of DeepChip.
You mentioned that you're hearing rumors about engineering attrition at
Jasper. Let me address that head-on. Over the past 14 months, Jasper's
engineering headcount has, in fact, grown by a net 40%. However, the
geographic distribution of our engineering department has changed somewhat.
In December of 2004, we acquired the Swedish formal verification company
Safelogic, with a team of exceptional research and development engineers;
all of whom are still with the company. In addition, in 2005 we built up a
formal-savvy development team in Brazil, headed by Dr. Claudionor Coelho,
who previously led the development of the BlackTie model checker at Verplex
(now part of Cadence's Incisive Formal Verifier). Claudionor (PhD, MBA)
has since been promoted to Jasper vice president of engineering. Meanwhile,
some software engineers located in our Mountain View office have left, but
I should make it clear that key Jasper technology leaders, Dr. Norris Ip,
director of engineering, and Dr. Rajeev Ranjan, chief architect, remain
with Jasper. I am happy with both the current size and the caliber of our
engineering team.
It is certainly no surprise that Harry Foster's decision to move on from
Jasper Design Automation didn't go unnoticed. Harry has been a true
evangelist and educator for the formal verification market, during his 2.5
years at Jasper and for 2.5 years at Verplex before that. He participated
in panels all over the world, and authored countless papers (not to mention
3 books). While at Jasper, Harry educated the world about the value and
methodology of complete formal verification of high-level requirements, as
well as assertion-based verification.
Last week, Harry moved on to his next new challenge as a principal engineer
at Mentor, where he is returning to his R&D roots and will be developing
next-generation simulation, an area outside of Jasper's focus. Harry tells
me that he is "off the panel circuit", though I'll believe that when I see
it. ;) This move will also greatly reduce Harry's travel, which was one
of his prime considerations; for 2+ years, he spent 3 weeks per month in
California, away from his home in Texas. I am indebted to Harry and his
family for their personal sacrifice, and for the impressive market
development that Harry achieved on Jasper's behalf.
Lost in these rumors are the really good things happening at Jasper. For
the record: We continue to acquire new customer logos, including a major
win at a large European consumer company where we displaced Cadence IFV.
We received renewal and expansion orders from existing customers in the US
and Japan, and now have several $1M+ customers. We have helped customers
propagate formal verification to multiple users on projects at multiple
sites. Our products are consistently winning technical evals. Finally, we
have a good cash position and are NOT currently fund-raising.
Thanks for the heads up on the rumors you're hearing. If you could publish
this, I would appreciate the opportunity to speak directly to your readers.
- Kathryn Kranen, CEO
Jasper DA Mountain View, CA
---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----
From: Harry Foster <harry_foster=user domain=mentor spot calm>
Hi, John,
Mentor offered me the opportunity to move back into an engineering role
focusing on formal verification and simulation. In addition, I wanted to
spend more time at home with my family in the Dallas area while still
making significant contributions to the company I work for as well as
industry standards, which Mentor is allowing me to do.
Concerning Jasper, they're not in trouble. I wish them great sucess;
particularly since they still have the best technical writer on the
planet, my wife, and I want to make sure she is happy! ;-)
- Harry Foster
Mentor Graphics Dallas, TX
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